The Black Knight
by Zephyrsword
Summary: Contains spoilers for the end of CSII. Rean is broken after the revelations of Chancellor Gilliath Osbourne and left to serve as his wretched dog in the strengthening of influence over Crossbell. Meanwhile, Class VII face the reality of departure as well as facing their fears and an old folks tale that seems to be bothering Emma...
1. A Day Without

**_Authors Notes:- I haven't written in quite a while and it shows. I aimed to be as accurate as I could to the game lore, while also giving myself a bit of creative freedom. I first played the Trails game back when XSeed released Trails in the Sky FC in 2011. I was blessed with this game and the wait of its sequel, that kept me hooked on the series since. While I don't think I could do the Sky series justice with written prose, Cold Steel has given me some creative freedoms with how it's ended so far. Just remember this was written before Cold Steel 3 was released and as such, things can be be easily invalidated. That being said, who doesn't write these for fun maybes? Anyway, I hope you enjoy my little passion project this past weekend. This story is complete even though I'm uploading it in parts, to make reading the chunks more manageable. I'll edit this chapter when that's all done. Edit: It's all uploaded. Enjoy the complete version!_**

* * *

 _"Alisa. Please stop chasing me."_ The hollow, familiar voice rung out.

"Rean I..." Alisa was lost in the white mist that surrounded her on the glassy landscape, but that was not of her interest. Her interest, was of course was the voice that belonged to the man. She couldn't just let him go like this. Before the thought even came to her mind, she was already running. Her feet were carrying her to destination, fuelled by her heart. The milky white surrounds began to darken until eventually, she was unable to discern her way.

* * *

 _Tap Tap Tap_

A hefty succession of knocks ran against a door, waking Alisa Reinford from her slumber. The blonde haired girl rose up slowly and winced to try and focus on her musty surroundings of a pint sized dormitory decorated with modest oak furniture. On the desk sat an old, ornate radio.

"Alisa, wake up!"

The voice was discernible behind the wooden doorway. Alisa quickly snapped to her senses and wiped the drool from her face and went to look at the orbal clock next to her bed. It was 9:16am.

"Crap!" Alisa uttered. She hopped out of her bed and approached the door, opening it ajar slightly to not share her disorganised appearance of messy hair and sleeping slacks. Behind the door was Elliot, the orange haired musician from her class.

"Are you okay Alisa? You took a while to answer the door there, you feeling too sick to come to class today? Instructor Sara sent me to go check on you, since she's busy with class and all. It already started 17 minutes ago."

"I-I'm fine! I just woke up a little late for once... t-that's all! There's absolutely nothing to be worried about."

"I mean, I would be worried about the Instructor placing a heel on you or worse-"

"Elliot, I'll be ready as soon as I can. Thank you for your concern." Alisa nodded "But if you don't mind..." She blushed a little as she thought over her words "I need a bit of privacy to get changed."

Elliot didn't think to cross Alisa's drowsy mood further. He sighed thankfully that she was okay and he didn't get the fortune of experiencing her wrath for once. After all, Alisa Reinford was a fellow accomplice and student at Class VII, and they had been granted nearly a year so far to stew on their relationships with one another. That being said, it was not hard to notice the ruptured holes in the team since the incident in Crossbell. Somehow, they were just expected to return to their school lives for another few months. The scars wouldn't heal.

Upon finally reaching the classroom, there wasn't much noise when Alisa allowed herself entry. The classroom wasn't as filled as most, there were far less students than what would deem normal for most. Amongst the members...

Laura Arseid, the pride of Legram, a blue haired woman who seemed polite in demeanour, but could wield a massive claymore in her delicate hands.

Gaius Worzel, a man that seemed one with nature, who hailed from a nomadic location in Nord highlands. Being in such a foreign, man made structure was something Alisa was surprised he was at ease with. But no matter where he seemed to be, he always seemed at one with his environment.

Machias Regnitz, the bespectacled and occasionally irritable fellow. He was often seen as less of a thinker and more of a speaker, a trait adopted from his father. He also inherited his resolve to take action, never backing down from a challenge thrown in his direction.

Emma Millstein an intelligent girl with a mysterious cat familiar she was seen with from time to time. A witch from a secluded point in Erebonia she entered Class VII to see the end of a purpose. She's still currently the class president as well as the highest scoring student on exams.

There was also Elliot Craig. A boy burdened by a militaristic father who took his pride in music. He had a soothing air around him, always trying to remain in a somewhat positive spirit compared to the rest of the class.

Finally, there was Fie Claussel a dropout from a jaeger group with snow white hair. Her personality was relaxed, like a cat lounging in the sun. She was fairly capable with speed and dealing with deadly arms and covert operations.

The classroom looked decidedly more empty than usual though. Jusis, a blonde noble from Bareahard was vacant taking charge of matters while his elder brother was occupied in Crossbell.

"Alisa. Are you going to stay standing there or are you going to sit down?" Sara winced over at the girl, giving her a cold, harsh stare.

"I'm sorry!" Alisa had snapped out of her trance. She couldn't figure out why she was thinking so much.

"Now, since you decided to turn up, I'll quickly recap a few things..." Sara quickly devolved into blabbing about varying politics and military subjects. "As you know Millium and Rean are out in Crossbell so you probably won't see then for a while, but it just goes to show how Class VII and all of Thors play an integral role in our working society, for some, the reality of it just happened a little bit sooner."

Suddenly, Alisa's ears pricked at the sound of name drops. Instructor Sara was indeed right – Rean hadn't been at school for a long time and the latter, Millium Orion had been completely written off on leave for military purposes.

The class went on for a while. Eventually, after a day of long lectures, the class was finally dismissed. Alisa rose from her seat once all her belongings were packed -that was until she was stopped.

"Alisa, I need to see you before you go. Alright?" It was instructor Sara herself.

Alisa gulped. It was probably due to her lack of punctuality today. She braced herself for the worst. "Yes Sara?" She approached her teacher, trying to mask the panic in her tone.

"I think you and I need a little talk." Sara glanced at the door, making sure the last person had left the room. "Now, feel free to take a seat."

Alisa nodded and pulled a chair near the front. It squeaked a little under the smooth surface of the floor.

"You know Alisa, if Trista became occupied this morning and you were asleep, what would you have thought of yourself? Punctuality is especially important when we're faced with such real threats of danger like that each day."

"Instructor I..."

"But you don't have to be sorry." Sara rested her palm on the desk and looked straight into the girls eyes. "It's written all over your face. But I already got a call that Rean will be back this week. So stop worrying so much. If you start getting sick, who's going to run the Reinford group hmm?"

Alisa blushed. "I uhhh..."

"Now go on, get. I got a date with a bottle tonight I'm not sharing. Gotta have some kind of crutch to get us through these troubled times eh?" Sara herself seemed to be withholding some kind of burden.

Deep down, Sara wasn't happy with the situation either.


	2. Blackout

Encroaching darkness within a small mechanical space. An unknown prison network 50 arge underground. A black iron bar prison gate opens, and a large man suited in blue throws a younger, more lightweight man violently inside.

"God damn it!" The man screeched as he slid against the floor. It dirtied up his flannel trousers and vibrant yellow jersey somewhat. He wasn't completely down for the count though, he rose up faster than the average man for his age and ran to the bars of the entrapment, only to have the door slam in his face before he had the chance. The large man who threw him in scoffed at him in disgust and walked away. "We don't need terrorists like you in our Erebonia." With that, the prison officer was already gone.

The entrapped man tried shaking the bars violently, hoping the steel somehow might fall or bend in his grip. "Dammit!" As he lost his will to fight back against the impregnable wall, he slid down into a seated position, staring at the floor. "How... how could I have let things fall so far?"

On the floor, he could see a loose card that had somehow remained on his person. The portrait was of a happier version of himself, at a happier time, with his comrades. On it, he saw the name 'Lloyd Bannings'.

This was him, during his days as part of the Crossbell Police Departments Special Support Sector. He scooped up the card and held it close to his forehead as a reminder of better times. "If it wasn't for _him._ Nothing would have changed and Erebonia would have failed to invade us. Now occupied by the Erebonians, our last ditch effort to save our country has left us imprisoned. If it wasn't for the Ashen Chevalier the tide wouldn't have changed so quickly."

Finally, Lloyd rose himself to his feet. Currently, he was out of options, but he could at least rationally start reflecting on what could be done at this point onwards.

Rean had heard the man speaking to himself so openly, the Eight Leaves user had placed himself just out of sight of the cell in the darkness near the stairway the prison guard had retreated. After all, he recognized Lloyd after their skirmish in geofront and he could only be so disgusted at himself. He had long forgotten what the Erebonian's goal was in Crossbell, besides just being a means to boast to any other neighbouring territories that dared cross their military might. At the center of it all though, was him, a tool of war.

While the Spiegels and Soldats were a great advantage over tanks and guns, no matter the operation, Rean's own knight Valimar was beyond them all. Because of it, he found himself in most missions across the now occupied state leaving him no time at all to return to Class VII and finish what remained of his school year. At this point, he may as well have not bothered at all. As he left Lloyd to grovel over his own predicament, Rean stewed on his own burdens as he walked up the stairs. "What exactly has changed? No more than a few months ago we successfully stopped the railway guns from firing at Crossbell... but for what?"

It was then he heard a brazen mans voice down the hallway "You should look a bit more brighter. You're our hero of the hour after all."

As Rean looked up, he saw a red haired man wearing a black suit trimmed with white. "Oh. Hello Lechter. It's good to see you."

"Oh Rean Schwarzer you should renounce your stress because your last mission is due today is it not?" He gave a subtle grin.

"It is?"

Lechter stared up a bit, in open thought. He almost looked like he was mocking Rean. "You didn't hear? Someone higher up was gracious enough to make sure you had some time off to study now that things are settling down here a bit. You've done such a great job!" Even though Lechter sounded positive the whole time, there was an air around him that was just entirely unpredictable. As he was also in charge on Erebonia's Intelligent Division, Rean had to pick his words very carefully with him.

"I should probably hurry then. I probably don't have much time to check in for my next task. Sorry for the short introduction, but I need to get going as soon as possible." Rean didn't really want to keep around him too long.

"Ah I see. Well, I won't keep you anymore. Go set of the fireworks!"

With that, they both parted ways. Seeing Lechter made Rean hurt a little inside, because he saw him next to... Gilliath Osbourne. The man that had been presumed dead, hidden under a lie to squash the noble alliance faction that had once dominated Erebonia.

* * *

And so Rean Schwarzer was assigned to his next task. The job?

"Protesters?" Rean looked up at Rufus Alberea from the console screen. Rean was talking to him in a rather tidy, well kept office trimmed with ornate gold and green wallpaper. He was situated in a rather worn down building to the right of the central square of Crossbell. It was a rather worn block for several agents of the military, Rean included. It had been renovated, but it reminded him of the dorms at Trista, just remodelled a bit on the inside. It was almost like Rean's home for a bit. He had spent more time returning here after skirmishes for paperwork then he had time to sleep.

"Yes. It's a small little sendoff job. It won't be anything too major. That being said, we can't let them show the weakness of our nation. Order must be restored."

"Order huh?" Rean bit his lip. A few months ago, this man, the older brother of Jusis was originally the heir to Bareahard. But no, it wasn't enough for Rufus clearly, he wanted more. Now the successor to Crossbell, he was promised the land after being deceptive in pledging his allegiance to the Noble Alliance. All at the expense of the suffering of the civilians.

"Put it this way Rean. How much longer did you think things would last in Crossbell? Place some thought in it. If we hadn't have acted so decisively when we did what would have happened? Civil war like our fair nation nearly slipped into? Such a small region would have collapsed under the authority of such an overzealous man. When you enrolled to Thors, you knew exactly what would happen when you were done, you would have been deployed. Your opportunity just came up a little sooner. Most wouldn't be heralded so much as you, and would have died in the forefront of war as a nobody to none but their friends and family."

Rufus certainly didn't mince his words. "You should appreciate your position you've been gifted a bit more. Many people would be willing to cast aside their humanity for a job like yours."

"Cast aside their humanity huh? I think I already did..." Rean uttered under his breath.

* * *

Before Rean knew it, he was in front of Valimar. This was his titan; a hand me down through Emperor Dreichels the Lionheart from an ancient era. Rean was an 'Awakener' who had forged a contract with Valimar through trials posed to him at the end of each month of his time at Thor's academy. At first just being an investigation project; turned out to be layers of several seals that would soon see this giant knight Valimar in the service of Rean.

The hour had finally struck when his time had come to leave this place. He would be a tool for the military again, just as his real father, Gilliath Osborne wanted. A brief sensation of solace washed over him knowing it would be the last he would be used in this was for now, but even knowing that, his time away from the military would only be short. He stared at his golden knight that lay rested in a kneeling position inside the confines of the large warehouse it found itself in. A bright light of sunshine shone down from the open rooftop, brightening up the ancient machine like Aidios' light had blessed its surface.

"AWAKENER..." A voice reverberated.

Rean saw the blue glint from the machines eyes light up.

"YOUR CONVICTION APPEARS TO BE WAVERING, CORRECT?"

"I'm not sure. I wanted to do this to find answers, but it seems as if I'm going to have to go through a lot of strife on others behalf to even reach them. It's almost selfish of me." Rean sighed and placed his arm on the steel leg of Valimar. "So many people are hurting. And it's all because of me."

"YOU HAVE COME FAR REAN. BUT LEST NOT FORGET THAT YOUR HEART MUST BE WHOLE TO CLAIM VICTORY IN THESE TURBULENT TIMES."

"Yeah. I know. It's pretty hard." He looked up at his oversized knight. "But, I can mull over that later. I have one last job to do."

"ACKNOWLEDGED."

Rean began to shine with a blue light that seemed to dissolve as he did. Before he knew it, he was inside the torso of Valimar, which at a glance, seemed far larger on the inside. The sword weilder began hitting at various keys.

 _Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

He tried to begin by making Valimar stand. Once the machine had raised itself from the floor, he tried moving it around, like a giant human doll. It was then...

...Suddenly the spacial area around Rean went dark, as if power had been removed from the plug. "What the?" As Rean tried to squint from the darkness. From the outside, Valimar had just frozen in position from where he was standing. "Did I hit a button wrong? No I can't of... I was given information on how to pilot this through the contract." The darkness was choking and dizzying, and while inside Valimar during the power outage, he found difficulty moving his body as if it too, was overloaded with a static.

Before Rean even had a chance to solve the problem, all the lights suddenly came back. "Valimar?"

"IT APPEARS THERE WAS A MOMENTARY OUTAGE."

Rean held his head and tried to diagnose the problem by looking for changes on the screens and ended up just shaking his head. "It's no good... I can't find out what happened. I'll have to get in contact with maintenance later. Do you think you can still handle this run Valimar?"

"I WILL ALSO ATTEMPT TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. FLYING LOW TO THE EARTH MAY BE A SUITABLE CAUTION."

"That works for me." Rean continued to stress Valimar with various arm and leg movements, but nothing seemed to shut him down this time. Confused, Rean decided to take a deep breath. "Alright, our destination is Armorica Village. Take it nice and easy."


	3. Put to the Test

"Practical examination today kids!" Instructor Sara cheered.

Meeting at the familiar place, Class VII was gathered on the field just down the steps from the academy. Here, they would often take not only physical examinations, but also be assessed for tactical thinking and strategy.

"Children? We are young adults!" Machias pushed the glasses up his nose as he firmly tried to correct his instructor. He didn't want to be associated with an adolescent youth.

"If I had my eyes shut I would have thought otherwise." Sara winked. "Well then, we should get onto the actual test right?" Snapping her fingers, she presented another doll. The students would regularly see these throughout the year although while each doll appeared the same, each time they seemed to be configured differently to assess different aspects of their talents.

Still, the appearance of the doll reflected some starking similarities to Airgetlam, Millium's mechanical doll she nicknamed 'Lammy'. However, this one was far more run down and much simplier in appearance, a mere interpretation grasped together by theorists of Airgetlam's construction.

"I wonder what we'll have to deal with today?" Emma tried to quietly focus on her target while clutching her orbal staff.

Laura stepped forward and drew her giant nobles claymore towards the mechanical target dummy. "This shall be child's play."

"Well, you kids have fun. I hope you're ready." Sara grinned as she snapped her fingers. She gave a wide grin and took two paces back so she could observe the arena and make way for her doll.

The students of Class VII gripped their weapons tightly and ready. As the model class of the Thor's academy, it would do them no service to slack. Elliot gave an audible gulp as he tilted his emerald staff forwards.

A brief wash of silence engulfed the space between the twitchy doll and the students. Suddenly, there was a second snap of the fingers.

"Begin!"

The fight had commenced at Sara's word, the doll already raced towards the students to tackle them with the large floating branch that served as its body. Laura, being one of the toughest members of class VII, stepped forwards to swat the doll with a huge cleave. As her sword blurred, it swung through the doll like a ghost. The doll itself had vanished from sight.

Then it reappeared.

"Watch out!" She heard a cry from someone in warning.

It was behind her. In the blink of an eye, its shadow formed behind her and flung her with a suprising tackle. It was so fast and toppled her with a swing of its body. Fie squinted at the fast moving target and bolted towards the doll in defense of her downed friend, grazing the doll with her swift speed and kicking it back.

Laura raised herself from the ground and wiped her dirtied chin. "My, my, that caught me off guard." A shadow began to form over her. Was she going to be finished off?

An outreaching hand. Gaius. "Let's get back up Laura."

"Yes." Laura nodded and accepted the help of her linked partner to rise to her feet.

The musician cried out aloud and raised his green orbal staff. "Arcus ACTIVATE!" He was channelling some kind of arts magic though the quartz interlaced into his staff.

Fie continued to fight and evade most of the dolls attacks, but one thing that stood out with this doll in particular was its emphasis on speed and power of the previous rounds. There were nearly no arts been channeled from it, as if it was a challenge of pure physical will.

Eventually, Fie's stamina ran low. Just as she wavered after piling the doll with bullet holes and scratches, it tackled her across the dirt. While the impact hurt, and she was being flung backwards, she kept the pain bottled and tried to land safely. What resulted was her putting a foot to the ground to slow herself down and eventually the lowered momentum prevented her from slamming into anything nearby.

Elliot unleashed his art. A well timed Teara directed at Fie. Despite his simple mannered nature, he predicted that Fie would eventually lose her footing and had began to telegraph a spell of healing. It wasn't a lack of trust; but knowing at heart Fie was human and she was still much younger than the rest of them. There was also the point of their foe being more decisive than usual.

Machias had the worst time. He continually fired shots in all the directions he saw the doll flash to, missing every single shot. "It's too damn fast!"

Gaius ducked, along with his other more sane class members. "If this doll doesn't defeat us, you will!"

Machias seemed frazzled and frustrated. Alisa herself wanted to giggle, but she knew now wasn't the time. She hopped back towards Emma "You got a plan?"

Emma was quiet. She seemed to be spacing out, just staring at the doll as it dashed around the field.

"Zemuria to Emma, what do you think you're doing?"

Emma jumped startled, as if a balloon had burst in her face. "Um well, it looks like our foe is pretty quick and strong, but its defences are all open. It's attacking much like a berserker in combat style."

"You think there's any way to get it to slow down?" Alisa asked.

Emma nodded. "Yes, we can slow it down with my orbal arts. If you follow up with Forte, we can strike at it while it's vulnerable."

"Sounds like a plan." Alisa turned to focus on the combat in front of her. "Let's show them what we can do!" Both girls began to cast their arts.

Fie continued to strike the doll until she was wrapped in a warm red glow. It was almost feverish, but she felt more confident she could lay heavier strikes on her opponent. "Thanks Alisa."

Just at that moment, the doll itself began to lose haste. The rest of Class VII could now pile onto it and take it down. Machias cheered with joy as he shot it point blank in the head, his first his of the day. He then coughed and settled down to keep his serious composure he had broken for a second.

Finally, the doll lay on the floor in a heap, unable to properly function anymore. Sara clapped as she stepped forward. "Good job!"

Elliot panted "What even was that? That wasn't like any doll we've fought before."

Laura sheathed her sword on her person."It was much faster than our previous targets and extremely hard to hit. What exactly were you trying to teach us with that?"

"Well, I figured you were getting good at these, so I wanted to step it up a peg. That's class over folks, lets get back to the school!" Sara seemed to completely gloss over the questions that Class VII was throwing at her. The threat of this enemy felt on par with something at the level they would have expected from fighting the real Airgetlam.

Emma muttered under her breath "It's probably a test of what's to come."

"Emma?" Alisa caught wind of her voice. Emma didn't notice her concern though, the witch just seemed to have focused on something else more important.

But _what?_


	4. Blood and Gun

The giant robot Valimar found itself flying above a group of protesters. There were a large amount of them, and some even carried weaponry. It was a dangerous situation, and one where Rean felt grateful he was guarded by such a huge lump of armour. The robot landed atop a raised cliff on the land, on the off hand that some of the protesters would attempt to try and topple the giant. The risk would have been fairly low, but distancing himself from his enemy may have been beneficial for the both of them. Or rather, the Chancellor Gilliath Osborne's enemies.

"It's that knight... that monster that ruined us!" An old woman screamed. A stick was lobbed at the foot of Valimar.

The words of the protesters sunk deep. Rean tried his best to silence the crowd, but was unable to. He didn't have the conviction to assert his beliefs on something he could not fully trust. "This is the Ashen Chevalier. Stand down from your protests, or face the jurisdiction of the empire."

A large slew of vile words emitted from the crowd. It was then imperial foot soldiers began to move in from behind Rean's giant to help him maintain order with the threat of guns. However time his giant knight wasn't scaring or fooling any of the rebels, with not an ounce of fear in their eyes of him or the soldiers. Soon enough, Rean understood why. A giant knight, known as a Soldat, moved in. It wasn't deployed by the the Empire- in fact, it was being piloted by a rouge supporting the protesters. They had stolen it, by some miraculous means, and planned to use it to have a fighting chance against Rean himself.

The crowd, amongst the bloodshed of the army deploying on them, began to cheer. It was their last hope.

A military officer shouted at the foot of Valimar. "Rean Schwarzer, show them what you're made of! Show them that you possess the might of our nation!" This particular officer was especially loud-mouthed and was stepping far beyond his footing for his rank. Rean wished he would just shut up.

Still though, Rean stepped up to the table. He mobilised Valimar with sword drawn. The blue rouge Soldat made the first move, confidently cleaving the sword down. Valimar hopped back to keep out of the way of the crowd and blocked the strike.

"Hello Rean." A voice came from within the rouge machine. "I'm Tracey. I'm going to put an end to you with our hope."

"Just surrender" Rean cried "I don't want to hurt you!"

Tracey snickered. "Don't think words will try to sway me. I'll never bow down to a lapdog or his owner."

Rean had no choice but to fight. He respected their will to fight back, but he was in no position to let them go. He had to..."

"...Exterminate them already!" The miliary officer shouted. The clash of the protesters and the military worsened and now the exchange of words had morphed into one of guns and bloodshed.

"No!" Rean cried out aloud. "There's no need to kill them! Just put them in custody!" Valimar was slammed in the distraction, causing his sword to fly from his hands and land in the dirt behind him.

"These crazed people are beyond saving. They would serve no purpose just rotting in our jails!"

Rean didn't want to keep fighting. He looked at the ground, Valimars hands limp. He had seen civilians killed countless times in this conflict, but something about this had crossed the line for him. His mental capacity was at a limit. "I can't keep fighting like this!"

"Rean, focus!"

Rean tried to gather his thoughts, but he didn't want to look at the reality of death around him. It was then, the rouge Tracey stepped into his vision. "If you're not going to fight, should I take the honors then?"

"Huh?" Tracey realized that Valimar had powered off, it's eyes in darkness. Was there something wrong with it? "I guess I broke it. That didn't take long."

Suddenly, Valimar seemed to start moving again. Tracey sighed. "Shame. I was hoping to get off easy. - what!?"

Something was wrong with Tracey's Soldat. It could move fine, but something was missing. A large shiny object lay in Valimars hand. He heard a voice, but it made his blood run cold.

"Looking for this...?" Valimar held and entire arm in its hand, ripped from from the body of Tracey's Soldat, and the entire time he could just hear someone chuckling from within Valimar. Whoever the man was inside, was like a completely different person. Tracey was dumbfounded "What the..."

Valimar moved again, this time it was faster. No sword was even needed, he was confident enough to face Tracey head on. "Where is your hope now...?"

"Shit!" Fortunately, Tracey still had the sword in his Panzer Soldats other free hand. "We deserve to be free!"

–

Tremors could be felt from above. The protesters who had come to save Lloyd and themselves were now frought with the face of real violence, and there was nothing he could do. He could hear the carnage and feel the vibrations, but could do absolutely nothing. The amount of focus on the above sector left the prison dreadfully empty. As Lloyd began to think on ways to escape the facility, his track of thought was lost when he saw someone wander through the room in the darkness. His eyes had acuted to something in the dark space – was it a monster? The thought was very real. The room only had one way out, a stairway leading up. Whatever this was, was approaching his cell from the other side of the room.

Whatever it was, it seemed to make sure their footsteps were delicate.

Lloyd's muscles suddenly relaxed when he recognized the face that emerged. It was slender and feminine, fit to be both an assassin and a dancer. She was somewhat scantily dressed in purple Calvard-style eastern robes. Her hair was a coral purple and her eyes glinted lavender. She carried a large sword on her person.

It could be none other than Rixia Mao.

–

Metal buckled, Tracey stared in horror as Valimar started ripping open the chassis of the Soldat with its bare hands. There were no sounds anymore coming from within Valimar. For once, Tracey feared for his life.

The Erebonian military could care less. Rean's display of brutality through Valimar served as a powerful warning to any usurpers. Overcoming his fear to destroy what was in front of him without an inch of worry was like a beautiful dream. But upon waking to his senses, it wasn't. Rean was still slightly numb from the takeover, but his was back to his usual self. It was still dark around him and Valimar hadn't quite got the message yet.

These episodes had been normal- ever since he could remember. When his mind with filled with despair or rage, normally, it would be only a mental conundrum that would be solved with resolution. To Rean, keeping his composure was almost forcibly weaved into his nature as a form of training and suppression. Any stress on his physical or mental psyche would force him into a supernatural state, where rational thought became a background shadow and he became a white haired monster. He had only grasped control of it due to accepting it about a month ago during the abduction and rescue of princess Alfin, but it had begun to creep on him again. The sensation of blacking out, but not quite. What was worse, is this time, it was having an adverse affect on Valimar.

He could only stand in horror as he saw what Valimar was doing- what Rean had him do during his mental lapse. "Valimar, please stop!"

The Ashen Knight refused to cease. Rean couldn't move very well, it was no different to an episode of sleep paralysis except it was very, very real. Valimar, who had buckled away the last remaining layer of the Soldat shell, was about to finish off the conceding pilot inside.

"STOP!"

The lights were back. Rean could move again, and as soon as he could, he heaved in a cold sweat. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't keep going on like this. He began to mumble. "If... if even words from Alfin wasn't enough, nor my friends or my family, then what am I to belong in this society? What am I fighting for?" He almost sounded creepily sadistic in his tone.

It was at that moment, he decided to shut his mind off. I'm done with this society."

"ACKNOWLEDGED." Valimar responded. The robot gently placed down the shell of the Soldat that remained, and Tracy, and folded out it's back wings.

"You're not done yet here Ashen Chevalier!" The military officer shouted out.

Rean didn't want to stay a moment longer. He didn't want to see any more bloodshed, especially bloodshed he might had so creully dealt to others.


	5. The Promise

There was still one last promise for Rean to fulfil, and that lay with Class VII. It wouldn't have hurt to see them again after so long. Though Rean did mull over the thought of the pain he would feel seeing them again and knowing he would have to part with them a second time eventually.

It was finally, to Class VII's joy, they saw him again. It was on the fields of the school grounds, the same place where they had fought the doll earlier in the week. Instructor Sara herself was also there, but it could be speculated that she was there because she was really glad he had returned as well.

"Not long now before I get to drink with that cool guy." Sara muttered under her breath as she blushed eerily over her own student.

Machias caught wind of it though. "Railway Military Police here," He sighed at the thought upon the taboo nature of a teacher trying to get in on her student.

Laura smiled, brimming with relief "I didn't expect you to keep up with your promise."

Elliot cheered "You really came back!"

Rean felt the warmth of his friends "Yeah guys. I'm really glad to see you all too."

Fie, the quietest one of the bunch, walked up to Rean and looked at him for a bit. She then tried to reach out her hand to... try and touch Rean's head or something? Gaius seemed worried "Uhhh, what are you trying to do exactly?"

Fie had to stand on her tippy toes to just about make. "Gosh you're so tall." She whined. Her hand finally fell on his head of black hair and she started rubbing it, like she was petting a cat. Rean just sighed. Fair was fair though. Rean had done his fair share of headpatting in the past.

Emma giggled. "I guess it's her way of getting revenge."

"Revenge!?" Rean wondered what sort of things they had been plotting for him in his absence.

One of the members of Class VII hadn't spoken up yet.

"Alisa?" Rean asked. He couldn't forget a single member of Class VII, so it raised his concerns when Alisa of all people wouldn't speak up.

"I-I'm glad to see you back! Not that I was worried about you not coming back or anything!"

* * *

That had about wrapped up introductions. It was still daytime, so Rean took his moment to get back to classes. It felt like April all over again almost, he was interacting with people again after such a long time and it felt wonderful. Taking in the sights of Thors and meeting people like Towa and George brought back some memories too.

But all the while, something still pecked away at him. He could simply erase what he had been doing the past while. In the eyes of his country, he was still a tool. He had friends now, but they wouldn't last forever.

And it hurt.

After classes were finally done, Class VII was left to leave the classes and spend the evening as they wish. Elliot stretched. Various students let out sighs of relief. "Well, that's all over for now." Rean concluded.

"So Rean, what's the plan now you're here?" Gaius Worzel asked.

"I'm not quite sure what to do with myself honestly. Though I am getting pretty tired though, with all that's happened."

Alisa looked at him in surprise "You don't plan to hang out with us after we'd only just got back together again?"

"Nah, maybe tomorrow."

"Rean!" Alisa shouted. She wasn't merely asking anymore.

Machias was unimpressed with the demanding Reinford "Come on Alisa, you're being a little rude to him."

Laura asserted Machias decision authroritively "Let him go Alisa."

All this time, she had waited for him to return. But he was trying to be so distant with them already. It was like thorns were intertwining under the layers of his flesh, making him hurt, but no matter what, he smiled. He had to keep going somehow.

Rean left, and with him a piece of their team left them too. Alisa couldn't understand why they couldn't be selfish for a change. It was the only chance they had. Emma decided to cool the atmosphere by stepping forward. "Actually, I had a little idea on what we could do tonight."

* * *

Alisa was exhausted. She spent some of her afternoon at Kirsche's Cafe. The nostalgic taste of a warm, minted tea helped her clear her head a little. She loved what her maid, Sharon Kreuger blended in her own tea, but she didn't really have the courage to face her right away before she returned to the dormitory.

Alisa was disappointed. She knew exactly why Rean was so broken, but most of Class VII simply seemed so oblivious.

Not too long ago, before Rean left for military business, he had gifted Alisa his radio to keep her motivated while studying. It was a little trinket that served as a symbol of Rean's departure, but there was more to it than that. Rean's lapse had been mentioned briefly on the radio.

" _And our Ashen Chevalier, Rean Schwarzer mercilessly cleaves a rebel Soldat to show that the Empire is making strides to secure Crossbell state and maintain order! Look at him go!"_

What made it more chilling was on that same radio show, they had recorded an audio clip from Rean himself. Him being very unlike his usual self and more like his _other_ self.

" _Looking for this...?"_

If Alisa hadn't known Rean previously, she could have easily took his words for a merciless warlord. But that was not like him at all. And yet, Alisa knew that Rean also had issues dealing with his _other_ self, due to the mixing of his blood at a young age by an unknown method. She wished she could ask Rean directly for answers, but he knew little about it himself -other than however he got into that position in the first place may have led to Osborne abandoning him at a young age.

Alisa was met with a shadow cast over her body as she brooded on her questions. As she looked up, she saw Rean himself standing over her.

"Oh, you're not at the dorms? I thought that was were you were headed."

"To be honest I actually forgot some routine shopping I was supposed to do before starting academy life again this morning, so I thought I'd take care of it now. Turns out completing an essay is a bit useless when you're out of pen ink."

"Rean... just play it straight for me. A lot happened when you were away didn't it? Osborne did this to you didn't he? You haven't been yourself since you arrived here."

Rean sat down. "I've been trying to see if there was a way to bring him back."

"Crow? But that's not..."

Rean gave a sad smile. "My real father was shot in the heart- and lived, there must be a way to save him too right?"

"And you're letting yourself be punished by Osborne for this?"

"It wasn't really a choice. Calvard was on the cusp of invading and it would have been a repeat of the one hundred years war."

"...But you ended up hurting people still didn't you?"

Alisa's words left Rean in silence. He couldn't argue with her. "No matter the outcome, it would have been ugly. There was nothing I could do to stop this cascade bloodshed. I can only feel regret. But this use of me is kinda driving me up the wall, you know?"

Alisa grabbed Reans hand and gripped it firmly. "Listen, I don't care what you think but you did everything in your power. There's a point where you need to move on and Stay happy."

"Hah. I thought the same too." Rean leaned in closer. "But Alisa, you need to understand. Coming back here was painful. I have so many burdens on my shoulders, so much blood on my hands... and for what? We won't be at Thors much longer with Jusis and Millium as evidence of that. Class VII has already been making plans to part ways as well. Happiness doesn't last for ever, and I think I'll break if I have to remain here any longer. So that's why... tommorrow, I'll be departing again. Forever."

"You can't be serious..." Alisa was dumbfounded. "She had barely had time to get to know him again.

"Don't worry. I won't be returning to serve to Osborne. I already left my post early and they likely have me on the chopping block in terms of punishments. I think I just need to cut a lot of ties and move on with my life. I'll be leaving you guys behind as well."

"Stop. Please just stop."

"You have to understand... I can't do this anymore Alisa. I can't continue hurting innocent people like this. I fear it's... driving me insane."

The Reinford couldn't take him spewing such nonsense anymore. What had happened to Rean while she was away? He had not only become a tool, but also a cynical coward. She stood up from her table and walked away. Maybe it was for the better they wouldn't meet again.


	6. Fleeting Reunion

**Authors Notes:- Very short chapter. This is because the next one is going to be rather long. If you read to the end of this one, you might have an idea why. I don't think it would be fair to break up what follows into chunks.**

The rest of the night, Alisa just spent sulking in her dorm. It was getting later in the day, to the point she felt she needed to pack it in and go to sleep. But instead, she sat in the corner of her room clutching her radio. The room was drenched in darkness, and her only sense of satisfaction was turning the dial on the radio to have it lightly play some calming music. It was so soothing. It was like a memento of what Rean was like before Crow died in the Vermillion castle.

A hard knock came to her door. It snapped herself out of her weird trance. Her finger jolted on the volume button, turning the radio off. "This late?"

She got up and answered the door. With the weight of the knock at the door, she half expected a tall man, but it was actually the pint sized Fie.

"Yo."

Alisa was baffled "What are you doing up so late? It's nearly past curfew isn't it?" Though, being up late would have shocked her more if it were someone else. Fie tended to be fairly nocturnal due to her previous Jaeger regime.

"You gotta come out right now. I was told that."

"You were told that, by who?"

"The posse of course. Meet just outside Trista since the school is closed off, okay?"

"Class VII?" Alisa wondered. It had to be. But why were they just outside Trista at this time of night?

–

Alisa fully asserted her belief in Fie. Class VII were definitely there, Jusis included.

"How did you get here? I thought you were at Bareahard?"

Jusis rubbed his nose "That's true yes, and I need to return in a day, but I can assure you I left the place well attended while I was gone by servants. Leaving Bareahard is sometimes nessicary for doing deals with the other noble factions, you know."

It was good to finally see him again, at the very least. But because of his rushed in nature, he wasn't wearing the standard Class VII uniform but instead his green tunic he was normally seen sporting in his province.

"Does that make everyone then?" Emma looked around.

Alisa seemed highly suspicious of Emma. "Did you arrange this?"

"Um well..."

Emma was abruptly cut off by the sound of an enraged woman.

"YOU GET HERE RIGHT NOW!"

It was scary. Definitely Laura. Rean was facing the might of the Arseid school as he was forcibly dragged to their reunion meet. "Please, have mercy!"

Rean finally stopped resisting in fear of being beaten senseless and wondered over to the group. His face warmed when he saw Jusis as well.

"Aha Rean." Jusis flipped aside his hand "I hear that you're not quite done with your punishment yet I feel."


	7. Facing Fears: Class VII's Parley

"Punishment? Wait, what is this about?" Rean gulped. He didn't expect to be met with violence from his classmates.

Finally, Emma revealed herself "Well, I specifically got in touch with Jusis after our practical examination because I realised something that Instructor Sara was trying to prepare us for. All this time... she knew well of your situation Rean."

Alisa's eyes widened. It was true. The radio was broadcast to thousands of people. Not everyone would have thought much into the context of the message... but Sara no doubt had. "So why do you think she...?"

Alisa was quickly cut off by Emma. "We want to help you Rean."

She was serious, pleading, and Rean knew it. Deep down, he knew what she was about to ask of him.

Alisa backed and forthed between the two. Rean suddenly looked very sad again. But so did the rest of Class VII. Still, Class VII seemed to have a fire of conviction behind them.

"So, as Class President, Emma Millstein, our second practical exam begins today, saving Rean Schwarzer!"

"Wait a minute!" Alisa had remembered the doll from the practical exam. "You don't mean to say Sara was preparing us to fight Rean!?"

Rean's _other_ version had a very similar fighting style. Lightning fast, and unrelenting power behind each attack, with some lackluster defences. But compared to the doll, Rean is no joke.

Rean sighed. "I get it, I get what you're trying to do. You're trying to get me to finally face my fear for when, one day, my sword might turn on you. The reason for my departure was originally; is, despite my progress with this power and overcoming it, slowly, it begins to crawl out of my reach again. And now I'm back at the point where I can no longer fight back on it anymore. It's even begun affecting Valimar and I fear mounting him on the prospect of what I might do. I can't say what will happen if I lose my senses inside of him again."

Emma nodded. "There was a story of one of the fragments great treasure vanishing from this very world. All because one man lost his conviction and became a feared blacken knight that eventually vanished without a trace. You already know that if Valimar is fatally wounded in a spot, you will also take that fatal damage to the same area. That being said, as your minds are also in sync, that aspect can transfer as well. If things were allowed to run their course then there would be no way of reaching you if Valimar became tainted as well."

"And that's why I need to pull away, before something like that happens. But if you have the power to put an end to it... then maybe it will buy me time to find out who I really am and then maybe finally and truly – bridal this power." Rean clutched his hand to his chest. "But are you absolutely ready to deal with what you plan to face? I won't be able to hold back."

Class VII could only hope that instructor Sara's training had paid off. They had even put down Loa Erebonious – twice, They brimmed with newfound confidence they could help their friend in need.

Laura wanted to make the first push. "Indeed Rean. I will enjoy taking parley with your ogre power, just like my father did back in Legram."

"...Alright then." Rean breathed in. "...Are you ready?"

The students nodded.

Rean accepted it as a suitable response. He nodded and focused on the tremors in his heart beat. He could manipulate it freely, like a conductor of a stage until it began to race and boil. His chest hurt. The dark blood churned, renewing a sense of unconditional hatred, a trait that sickened him.

And as quick as that, it took over. His eyes bled red and hair paled into a white, that which represented his other self. The Rean that acted on instinct.

Just like the dummy from that day, he flashed from sight and already the students found themselves in the heat of a violent combat. Laura tried placing her knowledge of the doll fight into practise, making sure to check her blindspots. Sure enough, he was already there. She was able to block a potentially real and fatal blow to her flank which she managed to deflect with her sword. It wasn't without some effort though, Rean's brutal instinct and swelling strength crippled her attempt at proper defences. She was thrown back, but was able to maintain some footing, unlike the last time where she was swept completely from her feet. She took a moment to breathe, but Rean was already focused on placing his next blade on her with his next strike.

"Winds, guide me with your blessed Insight!" Gaius cut in with an arts that caused light to well around Laura. For a moment, she felt as light as a feather, and could just about fortell each oncoming attack.

It was a blessing. Like an alpha pack animal, Rean was merciless. She still couldn't fathom, even after all this time, how was such a different force as he was now. And he had lived with it his entire life. Still, Laura had to shake it off. Using her newfound speed, she managed to keep toe to toe with Rean.

As the two sword users clashed, the rest of Class VII prepared their feats; Elliot readied a song that seemed to just magically flow from the tip of his staff, boosting the vitality of his allies. In an unusual- but not so unusal stance for Machias, he held his gun in the air to perform his own art. Meanwhile, Jusis eyed him over. Both of them in the past had been bitter enemies, nowadays they had grown to accept each other- but they still acted as playful rivals. "Ah, is that the best you've got?" He scoffed as he flicked his arm up at Machias.

"Have you got anything better? I'd like to see you try." Machias chuckled. It was time. The green haired commoner unleashed a shot of golden light from his gun, that fell upon the group.

Jusis didn't quite understand what he had done, but went with it. "Fine. If you're just going to not attack directly, then I'll do the honors of being the first to take him down." Jusis looked eager to get back into combat again after a lengthy amount of time making conversation with nobles and filling out endless streams of paperwork. He drew his fine, ornamental rapier and pointed it at Rean as a distraction. A shining glint came from the tip.

It was time. Suddenly, he bolted towards Rean. Not as fast as Fie, but he still had some evidence of military training within him. Schwarzer was still distracted by Laura, it was almost perfect.

Jusis cried at the top of his lungs.

 **"YOUR END IS ASSURED!"**

Danger. Insight had expired on Laura beyond her notice and she was suddenly tossed aside by a tachi. As quick as lightning, Rean grunted and turned to meet with Jusis. All under the space of a second. But Jusis was already committed to his movement. A shining light encircled Rean, while Rean's sword was intent to cleave Jusis' torso right in half while he was entirely open.

 **"CRYSTAL SABER!"**

A blast of white engulfed Rean. The sword tried to cut, but bounced cleanly off of Jusis' body, as if he had been washed with an invisible iron coating. Rean was forced backwards, taking the brunt of both the reflected damage from Jusis and the special craft.

As the dust began to settle, Jusis attempted to comprehend the situation. "That was... no doubt an Adamantine Barrier..."

Then he remembered the light that had shone down on him from earlier. The one gifted by Machias and his defense quartz. "Hey look, Jusis, do you think I'd actually let Rean cause serious harm to any of his classmates, especially you?"

Machias offered a wink and Jusis just sighed. "Well, I suppose I should thank you." Whatever the case, he was glad to not be harmed. The two had come a long way in terms of trust.

Rean rose to his feet rather quickly. He looked somewhat worn, but his instincts drove him to continue.

The Arseid took several steps back "Alisa, Emma, you ready for your part?"

"Yes." Emma replied with confidence.

"-Wait, what part?" Alisa didn't even get a chance to figure out what she was doing.

Emma seemed to have a burning fire in her eyes. She had already long gone into the throes of the battle, presenting her magical potential. "Morning moon, seal us from harm!" Her incantation wrapped both herself and Alisa in a magicked barrier. She then chained in some other powerful artes, such as Forte; a strategy employed in their mock battle.

Despite how Class VII felt, Alisa felt uncomfortable pointing her bow at Rean. After all, she had only just spoken to him hours before. Back when they were marching around Erebonia during the civil war, she could at least feel his presence when he was besides her. Even during the battle with Victor Arseid.

Rean's Ogre power had indeed been growing a lot since then. Right now, she could feel nothing from him. In the back of her mind; her Rean was being completely snuffed back by its presence.

"Once he accepts that he can fight us and trust in our battle ability, he will be able to move on. But you Alisa, you need to be able to trust in him as well." Emma used her time in a safe space to reassure Alisa that everything in the end would be fine.

 _But would it really? What if they went overboard? What if Rean died? If Rean was hurt, would he blame us?_

Alisa couldn't stop treading over her anxieties. As she fumbled, she maintained using support arts and crafts, hoping that she wouldn't need to once strike him. It could only last for so long, supposedly.

"Gleaming blades!" Emma finally pinned the Eight Leaves One Blade user with powerful swords of light. Since Rean had already been worn from multiple students overwhelming him, he was struggling to keep going. Physically, he was battered. Mentally, he wanted their heads removed. He clawed at the dirt while the pale white swords held him, screaming incoherently to try and get back up.

Emma analysed her situation "I think our chance is now Alisa. Strike him now. You connect well with Rean, he might wake up to you."

"I... I can't do that!" Alisa protested. She had no plans to aim at someone she cared about.

Emma's face darkened "Look... I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. If you don't he... the swords won't keep him down forever!"

Alisa had to cut off her rational thoughts.

"Rean is important to all of us, that's why we're doing this."

 _Important._ Emma did always have Rean's best interests in mind. She wondered if Emma felt for Rean like Vita Clotilde did to Crow. Even Class VII themselves wouldn't have agreed to this unless they knew what it involved. And above all Rean was willing to:- for one time only, face his greatest fear of putting his sword at their necks. Alisa knew deep down as she pulled back the string on her bow, that Rean would of wanted this.

Flames flickered from the bolt being strung back in her bow. It was a magical flame generated by the orbal quartz in her bow. Her heart was uneasy, but it had decided. In Rean's tougher body, there was no chance he could die. She finally found the courage to release the trigger.

The white swords trembled just as Alisa launched her parting shot. The phantasmic blades shattered and Rean spared no time trying to pull from the ground, but he was a second too late. His miraculous speed was beaten by the arrow, which had burrowed into his arm, leaving him bleeding. The damage to his battered body was enough to reduce him to the ground. He had finally reached his limit.

"Rean!" Alisa shouted, running towards the wounded man she had ust shot.

Fie raised her hand. "Wait!"

On the word, an eye glinted from the body on the ground. Rean wasn't done, it looked like. Alisa took two steps back, but she was too close to him. He struggled to his knees, biting his bottom lip drawing blood. The hand that was bloodied by the dripping from his arm spread across his head to hold up his face. Miraculously, Rean spoke "No..." He shook his head. From his perspective, the world was a bloody red. Normally, he would only be able to see this for a few seconds before losing consciousness, but he preserved through the distraction. The intent to kill the girl he cared about lingered, and it sickened him. This was what his other side was functioned to do right now. It was the first of the occasion where he could wrap his mind around it, conciously.

Alisa wasn't thinking straight herself. She approached Rean despite Fie's stern warning. One step at a time, she inched closer and closer.

"Emma?" Fie asked.

The witch clutched her rod tightly. "Alisa might be fine but... there's still a good chance that Rean isn't quite in control of himself yet. If he lashes out she could be...-"

Machias retorted. "So WHY? Why are you allowing her to do such a crazy thing? Do you want her to die? Rean would be broken beyond belief?"

"Well... no matter the outcome today. The chances are that Rean's mysterious 'power' will only get stronger. It has a ways to compare with Mcburn of Oroborous... but he's still not ready to take that on yet. But with that in mind, he's still our friend and to hell if I would see him break into shards! Just seeing him so sad... makes me unhappy you know?" Emma didn't know what to do with herself. Rean meant so much to her and the rest of Class VII.

Rean stared up at Alisa. She casually fell to the ground on her knees, so she could be eye level.

"Alisa..." He whimpered. "Why would you do such a foolish thing? You know anytime I could have-"

Rean was cut off. Alisa threw her arms around Rean and embraced his body, warming his cold body. "Because we care about you dummy." was the only thing he got back.

Alisa shut her eyes. Class VII weren't looking at her face from here, so she could get away with a few tears dripping down her face. For once in a long time, it felt good to be close to her favourite camaraderie in a long time. Finally, she pulled back before questions started to get asked.

Rean removed the hand from his head and instead placed it around the vicinity of his heart. As his stuffy mind began clearing with thoughts of his own conscious, he was able to offer his thanks to his friends. "You, Emma, Laura and the rest of Class VII. You were able to do so much I'm almost jealous." He chuckled at his battered body. "You certainly didn't hold back. Was Instructor Sara also in on this?"

"She was." Emma confirmed. She told me personally. I arranged this with Class VII as student council president. Alisa was missing from class so..."

Alisa could feel a cold glare running down her neck. "Well..."

Rean made his best efforts to smile. It was creepily unusual while in this form. Even back when he spirit unified during the civil war, he never so much uttered a grin. "Alisa. You don't have to worry about me anymore. The darkness within me grows day by day, and the military burdening me, plus the revelation of my real father as well as Crows death have taken its toll. But in part, I have to accept it. I'm not like other people. Being devoured by society is also a window to devour my own mind. I let things get to me that I shouldn't have."

"Don't be silly Rean. You're just human like us. We all have our burdens. We're friends because we share those burdens with you."

His eyes widened. "...You're right. Next time I should be a bit more open shouldn't I?" The man rose to his feet. Alisa was unsure if he could still stand, but here he was. She looked up from the ground as he held out his hand to her.

"Alisa. I want you to share my burdens with you, If I could be so selfish to."

Reinford couldn't refuse the offer. She grabbed his hand and rose to her feet.

Rean refocused to his heart, while his other hand reached to grab the arrow lodged in his arm. "I won't be a slave anymore."


	8. To the Third Flash of Steel

Even though Alisa wasn't close enough, she could make out the sound of his heartbeats as he snapped the arrow from his body. Normally, this should have caused blood to fly from the severed artery, but the wound closed itself at an abnormal pace. As the arrow broke and snapped, Rean gave a battle cry, as if to expel what power remained. And like that, his head of hair returned to black and his eyes a dulled lavender.

For now, the fight was over. The space felt tranquil and the party at ease. It was good to see their leader back. He seemed lifted of a notorious burden from his shoulders.

Fie was relieved. She was the second to rush over to Rean and looked up at him needfully. "Good to see you Fie." He lightly rubbed her on the head. She didn't say much else, she just stared at him like a curious cat but it looked like she was satisfied.

Gaius approached and gave Rean a hearty hug before gripping his arm. "It appears the winds have returned to aid you once again."

"Nice one Gaius. I'll try not to forget the tranquillity your people offered me again."

Gaius nodded, and moved away to allow the other members a chance to see him properly.

Laura eyed on Machias and Jusis, who appeared somewhat distant from the group. She needed to say nothing to Jusis for him to get the message, and he made his way towards Rean. "You put up a good fight." He shook hands. "Just don't go doing that again on us too soon, alright? I got some things I need to take care of back home first."

Before Rean could respond, Machias butted in with a malformed counter. "You were strong Rean, but ultimately you let your guard down, I hope it teaches you a lesson!"

Laura, Emma and Elliot chuckled between themselves. The musician smiled "Our Class VII is back, isn't it? It's just like before."

"Yes" Laura replied. "We won't be able to enjoy each others company like this again, so we should make the most of our time."

For the night, Class VII was finally at peace. Eventually, they would have to part ways again but being able to fight reinvigorated their hearts. Whatever the objective of Class VII had been, it had surely had succeeded. It joined those from entirely different backgrounds, noble, commoner, even those of unkempt blood- together. The night drew on, but finally it grew to late for them to remain out, and they returned back to the dorms under the starlit night, for what would be their last night truly together.

–

In the morning, Jusis had already departed and Rean had already decided on his future. While he would still be bound by a military contract with his knight Valimar, Prince Olivert had presented him an offer that would grant him some breathing room. Unusually, he was invited to the board room of Thors, where both the Prince and would have their conversation from across the table.

"Your noble actions have brought you far Rean, and I don't say that as a means to define you as social role. I truly believe you heart always fights for the better cause." The prince dressed in crimson glanced at Rean.

To be honest, being around Olivert was daunting. He was a bastard prince, but a prince all the same. Rean stumbled on words to address him.

"Please. Just call me Olivert."

"Olivert then. Just what is your offer to me?"

"Not too many months from now, we will be taking on a new Class VII. You and your friends will be parting ways. I heard Gaius has taken an offer from the Gralsritter and Elliot is going to take up his passion in music. Music? Isn't that wonderful?!" Olivert seemed more on fire than usual. "But to get to my point, my delicate flower Rean, I was wondering if you would take up the offer as an instructor to this new Class VII."

"Instructor? Like Sara? I don't think I'm at her level yet."

"You ended the conflict in Eastern Erebonia didn't you not? As well as having the proficiency if I might add to take down an entire Soldat without assistance of your warrior."

What Prince Olivert said was true. Rean just hadn't realized how much had happened during his time at and away Thors. The place meant so much to him.

"And Rean, I think that's why you should take up the offer. I already presented it to Towa, and she accepted it without hesitation."

"Towa did!?" Though Rean couldn't doubt her. Towa definitely seemed like a capable person in that line of work.

"That being said, I don't need you to act as hastily as she did. There's still plenty of time to make up your mind. The offer is just on the table. I personally think you're quite a capable man but I don't want to push you." Olivert was smart with his words.

No matter what, Rean was at least offered a lessened burden from his life. And from the Prince himself no doubt. Thors really did mean a lot to him. And being an instructor would let him stay there a bit longer. He wouldn't see his friends again, but he would be happy. Happier than he was being the dog to Osbourne. Rean wondered if this was Olivert just trying to spite his real father, but he didn't dwell on it much longer.

–

It was him alone again with his knight Valimar. He had been scolded for his early leave the last time, but since he was still valuable to the army, he only received verbal reprimand. Thinking about his future with Valimar, he was beginning to reach his resolve.

"Good to see you Valimar." Unlike last time, Rean sounded brighter. His aura radiated Valimar with mana.

"ENERGY LEVELS ARE ABOVE EXPECTATIONS TODAY. WHERE IS OUR NEXT DESTINATION, YOUNG WARRIOR?"

"Back to Crossbell one last time to issue my formal notice from Prince Olivert Riese Arnor. That fact that I feel finally ready to talk about it means maybe I've found what I'm looking for to move past that... right?"

 **Author's Notes:- And that's my weekend, vanished! This entire story was written in about a week. I'll go over it eventually for anything that bugs me, but that's that. If you're curious what became of Rixia and Lloyd, they were my fun inclusion because I'm such a fan of the Crossbell games, and I thought it would be interesting to see Bannings on the other side of the law. Maybe eventually I'll write an epilogue chapter about them, but for now, it's not really needed. Still thinking about expanding on the Black Knight lore itself though, since it's only touched upon by Emma.**

 **Anyway, I appreciate you folks sticking around to read my bit of nonsense. I'm signing out~**


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